Pocono mesic till barrens in retreat: topography,fire and forest contagion effects

The Pocono mesic till barrens (PMTB) are a unique assemblage of fire-maintained shrub communities that support numerous rare species. Historically these barrens covered a large area in the vicinity of Long Pond, Pennsylvania, USA. However, due largely to regional fire suppression instituted in the early 1960s, over 70% of the area covered by barrens succeeded to fire-intolerant forest that does not support the rare species. We investigated the influence of forest proximity on barrens succession across three geomorphic types during periods of high fire frequency and fire suppression, testing the hypothesis that forest processes such as seed rain, shading, and detrital enrichment of soils enhances barrens succession through a contagion effect. Evidence of a forest contagion effect should be shown by increased rates of barrens succession with increasing proximity to the nearest forest edge. In order to detect a forest contagion effect, barrens persistence and barrens succession were modeled in proximity zones of 0-50 m, 50-100 m, 100-200 m, and greater than 200 m from the nearest forest edge. We used existing GIS data layers for fire, geomorphology, and vegetation distribution in 1938, 1963, and 1992. The layers were modified and overlain using ArcView software to determine persistence and succession rates for each unique combination of layers in each proximity zone from 1938 to 1963 (pre-fire suppression) and 1963 to 1992 (post-fire suppression). ANCOVA results indicate that proximity to the nearest forest edge significantly affected barrens persistence rates in both time periods, but succession rates were significantly affected in 1938 to 1963 only. Twenty-eight percent of the 1938 barrens succeeded to forest by 1963; 56% of the 1963 barrens became forest by 1992. Results support previous findings that barrens persistence is enhanced by increased fire frequency, and that barrens persist longer where they overlie flat glacial till than on other geomorphology types.     

Upregulation of neurokinin A levels by nerve growth factor in the experimental asthmatic guinea pig

AIM: To explore the regulatory mechanism of nerve growth factor (NGF) on neurokinin A in the experimental asthmatic guinea pig. METHODS: Radioimmunoassay was used to determine the alteration of neurokinin A levels in the lower respiratory tract and visceral sensory afferent sites while NGF was absent (inhalation of NGF antibody through nasal cavity) in the asthmatic guinea pig. RESULTS: The contents of neurokinin A in the trachea, bronchus, lung, C₇-T₅ spinal ganglia and the correspondent spinal dorsal horn, nodose ganglia and solitary nucleus area in the experimental asthmatic guinea pig with the absent of NGF in the respiratory tract were much lower than those in the asthmatic and control groups (P＜0.01). CONCLUSION: NGF upregulated the contents of neurokinin A in the lower respiratory tract and visceral sensory sites of the experimental asthmatic guinea pig, and both might be involved in the pathogenesis of asthma.     

Human interleukin-1β induces A375-S2 human melanoma apoptosis through caspase pathway

AIM: To study the molecular biological mechanism and signal transduction pathway of interleukin-1β (IL-1β)-induced apoptosis in A375-S2 melanoma cells. METHODS: Photomicrocropy showed typical apoptotic changes. The cytotoxic effect of IL-1β in vitro and influences of caspases in this effect were measured by MTT assay. The cytotoxicity of cells was assessed by LDH-based assay. Degradation of DNA was detected by agarose gel electrophoresis. RESULTS: The inhibitory effect of IL-1β on A375-S2 cell growth was in a dose and time-dependent manner, and cell death rate reached more than 90% at 72 h after treatment with 10^-9mol/L IL-1β. The inhibitors of caspase-family, -1, -3, -8, -9, and -10, partially blocked cell death at early stage. LDH assay showed that major IL-1β-induced cell death was apoptosis, and in a dose and time-dependent manner. Typical apoptotic DNA ladder was observed in agarose gel electrophoresis. CONCLUSION: IL-1β induced apoptosis in melanoma A375-S2 cells by activating caspase pathway.     

昆虫抗菌肽生物学活性及其应用前景

昆虫抗菌肽是昆虫免疫后存在于血淋巴中的一类活性肽 ,具有广谱的抗菌、抗病毒、抑制肿瘤的生物活性 ,具有很高的应用潜力。本文主要介绍昆虫抗菌肽的类型、生理活性、基因的克隆与表达及在动物科学中的应用前景     

天然食品防腐剂作用机理研究进展

食品防腐一直是食品和畜产品加工业所面临的难题 ,在化学防腐剂和传统的物理除菌方法受到种种限制的同时 ,天然食品防腐剂的研究和应用进入了一个新领域 ,也逐渐显示其优势。本文从天然食品防腐剂的作用模式及其微生物对这些防腐剂的抗性机制出发 ,讨论既能满足消费者需求又能有效防腐的新的食品保护剂领域的趋向以及需要解决的问题     

围产期奶牛能量代谢障碍性疾病的防治进展

奶牛代谢性疾病给奶牛饲养业造成重大经济损失。因此 ,如何搞好奶牛的饲养管理 ,减少代谢病的发生 ,充分发挥其生产潜力 ,是当前奶牛代谢病防治工作中亟待解决的问题。本文主要阐述了围产期奶牛能量代谢障碍病的危害、病因及防治措施     

黄羽肉鸡育肥期维生素A、E适宜添加量研究

选体重和脚胫颜色度接近的56日龄黄羽肉鸡共960只,随机分为16个处理组,每处理60只鸡。采用双因子4×4水平的随机试验设计,4个维生素A添加水平(0、5000、10000、20000IU/kg)和4个维生素E添加水平(0、30、60、120IU/kg)。结果表明:在维生素A0～10000IU/kg、维生素E0～60IU/kg范围内,黄羽肉鸡的日增重和饲料报酬逐渐提高;日粮维生素A添加量超过10000IU/kg,血浆中维生素E含量有下降趋势。高水平维生素A(20000IU/kg),升高血浆TBARS值,大剂量维生素E(120IU/kg),提高机体脂质稳定性。日粮添加20000IU/kg维生素A对色素的沉积有抑制作用,随维生素E水平的上升,皮肤的颜色指数呈现上升趋势。维生素A和E含量及其互作对血清新城疫抗体效价有显著影响。综合考虑,黄羽肉鸡育肥期维生素A、E的适宜添加量分别为5000～10000IU/kg,30～60IU/kg。     

青蒿有效成分的提取方法筛选

为筛选出安全、方便、高效、省时的青蒿有效成分的提取方法,研究利用建立的高效液相色谱方法来评价超声波法、微波辅助法和恒温加热搅拌法对青蒿素的提取效果。结果显示超声波法提取青蒿素的含量为0.4489 mg/g,微波辅助法提取青蒿素的含量为0.2676 mg/g,恒温加热搅拌法提取青蒿素的含量为0.1589 mg/g。试验表明:利用超声波法提取青蒿素效果最佳,超声波提取可促进青蒿有效成分的释放。     

Novel reassortant H5N6 highly pathogenic influenza A viruses in Vietnamese quail outbreaks

Avian influenza A H5N6 virus is a highly contagious infectious agent that affects domestic poultry and humans in South Asian countries. Vietnam may be an evolutionary hotspot for influenza viruses and therefore could serve as a source of pandemic strains. In 2015, two novel reassortant H5N6 influenza viruses designated as A/quail/Vietnam/CVVI01/2015 and A/quail/Vietnam/CVVI03/2015 were isolated from dead quails during avian influenza outbreaks in central Vietnam, and the whole genome sequences were analyzed. The genetic analysis indicated that hemagglutinin, neuraminidase, and polymerase basic protein 2 genes of the two H5N6 viruses are most closely related to an H5N2 virus (A/chicken/Zhejiang/727079/2014) and H10N6 virus (A/chicken/Jiangxi/12782/2014) from China and an H6N6 virus (A/duck/Yamagata/061004/2014) from Japan. The HA gene of the isolates belongs to clade 2.3.4.4, which caused human fatalities in China during 2014–2016. The five other internal genes showed high identity to an H5N2 virus (A/chicken/Heilongjiang/S7/2014) from China. A whole-genome phylogenetic analysis revealed that these two outbreak strains are novel H6N6-like PB2 gene reassortants that are most closely related to influenza virus strain A/environment/Guangdong/ZS558/2015, which was detected in a live poultry market in China. This report describes the first detection of novel H5N6 reassortants in poultry during an outbreak as well as genetic characterization of these strains to better understand the antigenic evolution of influenza viruses.     

Evaluation of β‐carotene assimilation in leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius)

Although leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius) are commonly kept under human care, their vitamin requirements are largely unknown. Many invertebrate preys display a low vitamin A concentration; thus, gut‐loading insects with vitamin A or carotenoids is a common practice. The objective of this prospective experimental study was to investigate whether dietary supplementation with β‐carotene, including prey gut‐loading, leads to sufficient vitamin A hepatic storage and prevents epithelial squamous metaplasia development in leopard geckos. Ten clinically healthy female leopard geckos were randomly divided in two groups with various supplementations: a group receiving vitamin A supplementation and a group receiving β‐carotene. Insects were gut‐loaded continuously with a supplement containing vitamin A or β‐carotene, depending on the group. Oral supplementation with cod liver oil or carrot juice was administered weekly to each lizard from “vitamin A group” and “carotenoid group” respectively. After 10 weeks of supplementation, surgical hepatic biopsies were obtained in three geckos of each group while the two remaining geckos were euthanized to undergo complete necropsy. Hepatic vitamin A concentration was determined for each lizard (n = 10) by ultra‐performance liquid chromatography. Histopathology revealed hepatocellular vacuolization and vitellogenic follicles in five females. Epithelial squamous metaplasia was not observed in any of the geckos. Hepatic vitamin A concentration was significantly higher in the carotenoid‐supplemented group than in the vitamin A‐supplemented group (p = 0.03). Our results suggest that in leopard geckos, dietary supplementation with β‐carotene allows sufficient vitamin A hepatic storage.